Weight Loss/Diet Affecting Mood?

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lukeout007
lukeout007 Posts: 1,247 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I asked this once when I first started with MFP and as I remember I got no responses...

Back when I first started I remember a good 2 week period where I was easily frustrated, irritable, snappy, and just generally in kind of a sh**ty mood. I had asked if this normally happens when you start to lose weight...eventually it did stop and I was back to my normal self...

Over the last week I've basically stopped dieting. I haven't logged anything and I've been eating like *kitten*. I'm also noticing again that I'm irritable and in kind ofa sh**ty mood again. It's been very up & down. So again I pose my question...is this weight loss/diet related? I'm sure some of it comes down to just an overall feeling of failure since I feel like I've given up over the last week (though I'm trying to get in the right frame of mind to get back on track). Could some of it be chemical though? Is it possible that certain foods (or just a bad diet) can actually aggravate a person?

Replies

  • jamonthelam
    jamonthelam Posts: 21
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    Your body doesn't want to lose weight. People can be come psychologically dependent on certain types of food, and kicking the habit absolutely sucks. Of course you're going to be miserable. Losing weight isn't easy.

    The best thing to do would be to find ways to make you less miserable -- if you're miserable because you're always hungry, even when you are right at your calorie goal, try eating low-calorie but still filling foods, or drink water before your meals (the stomach releases a chemical called CCK based on how full it is, not how much food you've eaten) or try to eat slower (it takes about 20 minutes for CCK to be released, so if you eat really fast your body won't realize you're full until after you've gone back for seconds).

    If you're miserable for any other reason, find some inspiration or anything else to keep going -- even a very good distraction might be enough.

    And I mean, the two aren't necessarily related. It might be that your mood issues are a result of something else and eating was just the way you dealt with that before (hell, I know it was for me) so it's not that you've gained a reason to be miserable, but you've lost your way to cope with that misery.

    I hope some of this helps -_- You can add me as a friend if you want and message me when you're feeling down.
  • Merrychrissmith
    Merrychrissmith Posts: 238 Member
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    I suffer from AIC. Appetite Induced Crankiness.

    I used to eat a lot of carbs in the morning and would crash. Stopped splurging and it got a lot better! I eat low cal snacks to ward off crashing now.
  • lukeout007
    lukeout007 Posts: 1,247 Member
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    Thanks jamonthelam. I will add you.

    I'm sure I am psychologically dependent on junk food. I've realized over the course of the last 2 or 3 weeks that I'm definitely a binge eater and when I really lose control I can put away anywhere from 1000-3000 extra calories in the course of an hour or two. I'm sure just this realization is making my mood a little worse...not because it's happening but because I know I'm going to have to go through hell to stop it from happening.

    I've read that for many binge eaters they actually get withdrawal symptoms when they stop binging...maybe the irritability is my withdrawal symptom?

    I just want it to change...my mood and my diet. I don't want to be fat...but I also feel like I'm sacrificing everything I love...and that I have to because if I don't I'll binge on the foods I love.
  • lukeout007
    lukeout007 Posts: 1,247 Member
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    I suffer from AIC. Appetite Induced Crankiness.

    I used to eat a lot of carbs in the morning and would crash. Stopped splurging and it got a lot better! I eat low cal snacks to ward off crashing now.

    Lol I get cranky when I'm hungry too...but the irritability I'm referring to is moreso in the times when I'm not eating and I'm not hungry...
  • hazymary
    hazymary Posts: 190 Member
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    Oh yeah...I ( or should I say my boyfriend) noticed right before dinner I got cranky, easy to trigger(snap). After some thinking, it might have been trying to maintain a 1200 calorie net. diet. So I did some research and tweeked my calories to equal my BMR 1360.
    I haven't had the mood swings or crankiness since.
  • lukeout007
    lukeout007 Posts: 1,247 Member
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    Oh yeah...I ( or should I say my boyfriend) noticed right before dinner I got cranky, easy to trigger(snap). After some thinking, it might have been trying to maintain a 1200 calorie net. diet. So I did some research and tweeked my calories to equal my BMR 1360.
    I haven't had the mood swings or crankiness since.

    The weird thing is that I recently upped my calories to be in line with my BMR as well...it hasn't really helped...although I guess it's hard to say for sure since I haven't stuck to it either...
  • maryhegdal
    maryhegdal Posts: 6
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    yes, dieting is probably affecting your mood swings. I know "they" say this all the time, but scientific research has proven that exercise releases endorphins (feel good hormones) in your brain and you feel better naturally. I feel sluggish & irritable on days that I don't do some type of exercise, even just a 30 minute walk helps. Good luck.
  • lukeout007
    lukeout007 Posts: 1,247 Member
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    yes, dieting is probably affecting your mood swings. I know "they" say this all the time, but scientific research has proven that exercise releases endorphins (feel good hormones) in your brain and you feel better naturally. I feel sluggish & irritable on days that I don't do some type of exercise, even just a 30 minute walk helps. Good luck.

    Hmmm...I have stopped exercising too for the most part...that makes sense.
  • sthrnchick
    sthrnchick Posts: 771
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    I personally have found with the weight loss and diet...I am even more sassy and confident...a bit much sometimes!

    Make sure you are eating good, as unprocessed food as possible. I have cut out all sodas, 99% of my bread, and drink tons and tons of water. I cook nearly everything I eat from scratch and forgo the fast food, diet food, processed crap.

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